John Blewitt – författare

The United Nations has pithily defined sustainable development as progress that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. But sustainable development remains highly contested and is subject to a wide variety of interpretations, applications, and criticisms. Moreover, those seeking fully to understand this critical concept are confronted with a (sometimes dispiritingly) voluminous body of scholarly, polemical, and journalistic writing.Edited by the acclaimed author of Understanding Sustainable Development (Earthscan, 2008), this new title from Routledge’s Critical Concepts in the Environment series answers the need for an authoritative reference work to make sense of the vast literature on sustainable development, and the continuing explosion in research output.Drawing on a wide variety of sources that take full cognizance of the rich background and necessary adaptability of the concept to the imperatives of time, place, and culture, and which emphasize its connected and transdisciplinary nature, the editor has brought together in four volumes the canonical and the best cutting-edge work to produce an indispensable ‘mini library’. The collection covers the history, mediation, application, and likely future orientations of sustainable development, both conceptually and as a continually emerging practice.Sustainable Development is fully indexed and includes comprehensive introductions, newly written by the editor, which place the collected materials in their historical and intellectual context. It is an essential reference collection and is certain to be valued by scholars and students—as well as serious policy-makers and practitioners—as a vital one-stop research and pedagogic resource.

Natural History filmmaking has a long history but the generic boundaries between it and environmental and conservation filmmaking are blurred. Nature, environment and animal imagery has been a mainstay of television, campaigning organisations and conservation bodies from Greenpeace to the Sierra Club, with vibrant images being used effectively on posters, leaflets and postcards, and in coffee table books, media releases, short films and viral emails to educate and inform the general public. However, critics suggest that wildlife film and photography frequently convey a false image of the state of the world’s flora and fauna. The environmental educator David Orr once remarked that all education is environmental education, and it is possible to see all image-based communication in the same way.The Media, Animal Conservation and Environmental Education has contributions from filmmakers, photographers, researchers and academics from across the globe. It explores the various ways in which film, television and video are, and can be, used by conservationists and educators to encourage both a greater awareness of environmental and conservation issues, and practical action designed to help endangered species.This book is based on a special issue of the journal Environmental Education Research.

Resilience is a term that is gaining currency in conservation and sustainable development, though its meaning and value in this context is yet to be defined. Searching for Resilience in Sustainable Development examines ways in which resilience may be created within the web of ecological, socio-economic and cultural systems that make up the world in. The authors embark upon a learning journey exploring both robust and fragile systems and asking questions of groups and individuals actively involved in building or maintaining resilience.Through a series of wide ranging interviews the authors give voice to the many different approaches to thinking of and building resilience that may otherwise stay rooted in and confined by specific disciplinary, professional or spatial contexts. The book documents emerging trends, shifting tactics and future pathways for the conservation and sustainable development movement post Rio+20, arriving at a set of diverse but connected conclusions and questions in relation to the resilience of people and planet.This book is ideal for students and researchers working in the fields of conservation, sustainable development, education, systems thinking and development studies. It will also be of great interest to NGOs and government officers whose interests and responsibilities focus on conserving or reconstructing biodiversity and system resilience.

Resilience is a term that is gaining currency in conservation and sustainable development, though its meaning and value in this context is yet to be defined. Searching for Resilience in Sustainable Development examines ways in which resilience may be created within the web of ecological, socio-economic and cultural systems that make up the world in. The authors embark upon a learning journey exploring both robust and fragile systems and asking questions of groups and individuals actively involved in building or maintaining resilience.Through a series of wide ranging interviews the authors give voice to the many different approaches to thinking of and building resilience that may otherwise stay rooted in and confined by specific disciplinary, professional or spatial contexts. The book documents emerging trends, shifting tactics and future pathways for the conservation and sustainable development movement post Rio+20, arriving at a set of diverse but connected conclusions and questions in relation to the resilience of people and planet.This book is ideal for students and researchers working in the fields of conservation, sustainable development, education, systems thinking and development studies. It will also be of great interest to NGOs and government officers whose interests and responsibilities focus on conserving or reconstructing biodiversity and system resilience.

Much loved in his own era, William Morris has inspired Prime Ministers (Clement Attlee), artists and eco-socialists (John Bellamy Foster).Ferociously opposed to capitalism and inequality, he sought to embrace humanity with passion, commitment, energy and belief working vigorously for a free, green and non-hierarchical future. All this – with his distrust of conventional politicians and with his belief that people can and must change the world – resonates in social movement politics today. This book offers a fresh perspective: a transhistorical approach presenting Morris’s libertarian politics through exploring his intellectual and cultural heritage and considering practical-political issues, actions and aims. Today we see how class intersects with gender, politics with technology and economics, ecology with industry and economics, art with history. John Blewitt shows how these – and more – intersect with each other and with power, domination, resistance, emergence and transcendence. Morris helps us grapple with these challenges offering an ethics and a politics embracing socialism, communism, anarchism and feminism.Hark the rolling of the thunder! Lo the sun! and lo thereunderRiseth wrath, and hope, and wonder, And the host comes marching on.

A truly comprehensive introduction to the topic, Understanding Sustainable Development is designed to give students on a wide range of courses an appreciation of the key concepts and theories of sustainable development. Fully updated, the third edition includes detailed coverage of the Sustainable Development Goals and their impact on global development. Major challenges and topics are explored through a range of international case studies and media examples which maintain the ‘global to local’ structure of the previous edition.With an extensive website and pedagogy, Understanding Sustainable Development is the most complete guide to the subject for course leaders, undergraduates and postgraduates.

A truly comprehensive introduction to the topic, Understanding Sustainable Development is designed to give students on a wide range of courses an appreciation of the key concepts and theories of sustainable development. Fully updated, the third edition includes detailed coverage of the Sustainable Development Goals and their impact on global development. Major challenges and topics are explored through a range of international case studies and media examples which maintain the ‘global to local’ structure of the previous edition.With an extensive website and pedagogy, Understanding Sustainable Development is the most complete guide to the subject for course leaders, undergraduates and postgraduates.

Natural History filmmaking has a long history but the generic boundaries between it and environmental and conservation filmmaking are blurred. Nature, environment and animal imagery has been a mainstay of television, campaigning organisations and conservation bodies from Greenpeace to the Sierra Club, with vibrant images being used effectively on posters, leaflets and postcards, and in coffee table books, media releases, short films and viral emails to educate and inform the general public. However, critics suggest that wildlife film and photography frequently convey a false image of the state of the world’s flora and fauna. The environmental educator David Orr once remarked that all education is environmental education, and it is possible to see all image-based communication in the same way.The Media, Animal Conservation and Environmental Education has contributions from filmmakers, photographers, researchers and academics from across the globe. It explores the various ways in which film, television and video are, and can be, used by conservationists and educators to encourage both a greater awareness of environmental and conservation issues, and practical action designed to help endangered species.This book is based on a special issue of the journal Environmental Education Research.

Since the early 1960s, the Journal of the William Morris Society (renamed Journal of William Morris Studies in 2005) has attracted a wide range of scholars to consider the life and work of this pivotal figure in Victorian culture. During that time the journal has published nearly 120 articles, exploring all areas of Morris’s social, political and environmental thought as well as his energetic political activism.The contributions gathered in this volume provide many original insights, as well as unearthing fresh material from the archives. The lifetime trajectory of Morris’s politics and socialism is often discussed in ways that show how it emerges from, interconnects with and informs the many other areas of his work – art, design, literature, poetry, arts and crafts manufacture, fine book publishing and production. There is no other collection of articles of this type, with the range of contributors representing a virtual who’s-who of Morris scholarship. William Morris’s social and political values, his actions, his utopian writings and his libertarian socialism resonate even more widely today than perhaps they did in his own time.At a moment in history when disillusion and distrust of current politics and politicians has grown significantly, a figure such as Morris offers renewal and hope. This book allows great opportunities to reflect on the culture, context and genealogy of his beliefs while inviting the reader to revisit political possibilities and paths not taken… paths that perhaps should be embarked upon now.

Since the early 1960s, the Journal of the William Morris Society (renamed Journal of William Morris Studies in 2005) has attracted a wide range of scholars to consider the life and work of this pivotal figure in Victorian culture. During that time the journal has published nearly 120 articles, exploring all areas of Morris’s social, political and environmental thought as well as his energetic political activism.The contributions gathered in this volume provide many original insights, as well as unearthing fresh material from the archives. The lifetime trajectory of Morris’s politics and socialism is often discussed in ways that show how it emerges from, interconnects with and informs the many other areas of his work – art, design, literature, poetry, arts and crafts manufacture, fine book publishing and production. There is no other collection of articles of this type, with the range of contributors representing a virtual who’s-who of Morris scholarship. William Morris’s social and political values, his actions, his utopian writings and his libertarian socialism resonate even more widely today than perhaps they did in his own time.At a moment in history when disillusion and distrust of current politics and politicians has grown significantly, a figure such as Morris offers renewal and hope. This book allows great opportunities to reflect on the culture, context and genealogy of his beliefs while inviting the reader to revisit political possibilities and paths not taken… paths that perhaps should be embarked upon now.

Your house is flooded by 'unseasonal' heavy rain. What do you learn from this experience? Do you shrug your shoulders and call your insurer? Or do you choose to learn about climate change, switch to renewable energy and lobby politicians? In this insightful book, John Blewitt explores the possibilities for developing a sustainable society through 'lifelong learning' � that is, learning that happens in everyday environments and activities as diverse as shopping, community, 'edutainment', information and communication technology, the internet, broadcasting, people's experience of place and space, green building, social networks and consumer culture.Drawing on a range of sociological, anthropological and educational studies as well as new research, The Ecology of Learning is ideal for educators, teachers, corporate trainers and consultants working to integrate environmental education, sustainability and innovation in non-traditional learning situations. The coverage is extensive, with an accessible but informed engagement with both theory and practice and a wide range of examples. Throughout, the voices, stories and experiences of many people are used to illustrate the ways people may reshape our understanding of learning and sustainability.

The links between education and sustainable development are deepening, although subject to much controversy and debate. The success of the sustainability discourse depends both on the pedagogic and research functions of higher education. Similarly, for higher education itself to remain relevant and engaged it faces pressure not only to integrate the insights and lessons drawn from the perspective of sustainable development, but also to be responsive to scrutiny of its own practices in relation to sustainability. Among professionals in higher education, sustainable development has its supporters and detractors. It is embraced by some individuals and departments while being perceived by others as a threat to the coherence of particular disciplines. Although it is not currently an academic discipline in its own right, increasing public and professional familiarity with the term, and the increasing urgency of global calls for the implementation of sustainable development mean that this is rapidly changing.This volume analyses the impact of the concepts and practices of sustainability and sustainable development on various academic disciplines, institutional practices, fields of study and methods of enquiry. The contributors, drawn from a wide-range of disciplines, perspectives, educational levels and institutional contexts, examine the purpose of the modern university and the nature of sustainable education, which includes exploring links to social movements for sustainability projects, curriculum change, culture and biodiversity, values relating to gender equality and global responsibility, and case studies on the transformation, or otherwise, of some specific disciplines.

The links between education and sustainable development are deepening, although subject to much controversy and debate. The success of the sustainability discourse depends both on the pedagogic and research functions of higher education. Similarly, for higher education itself to remain relevant and engaged it faces pressure not only to integrate the insights and lessons drawn from the perspective of sustainable development, but also to be responsive to scrutiny of its own practices in relation to sustainability. Among professionals in higher education, sustainable development has its supporters and detractors. It is embraced by some individuals and departments while being perceived by others as a threat to the coherence of particular disciplines. Although it is not currently an academic discipline in its own right, increasing public and professional familiarity with the term, and the increasing urgency of global calls for the implementation of sustainable development mean that this is rapidly changing.This volume analyses the impact of the concepts and practices of sustainability and sustainable development on various academic disciplines, institutional practices, fields of study and methods of enquiry. The contributors, drawn from a wide-range of disciplines, perspectives, educational levels and institutional contexts, examine the purpose of the modern university and the nature of sustainable education, which includes exploring links to social movements for sustainability projects, curriculum change, culture and biodiversity, values relating to gender equality and global responsibility, and case studies on the transformation, or otherwise, of some specific disciplines.

A wide-ranging collection of essays written for the William Morris Society exploring the various intersections between the life, work and achievements of William Morris (1834-1896) and that of John Ruskin (1819-1900).Subjects covered include Ruskin’s connection with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, the promotion of craft skills and meaningful work, Morris and the division of labour, Ruskin’s engagement with education and the environment, Ruskin and the art and architecture of Red House, the parallels between Ruskin’s support for Laxey Mill and Morris’s Merton Abbey Works, the illustrated manuscript and the contrasts between Ruskin’s Tory paternalism and Morris’s revolutionary socialism. The book includes articles first published in The Journal of William Morris Studies between 1977 and 2012 and new pieces written especially for this volume.Ruskin's beliefs had a profound and lasting impact on Morris who wrote, upon first reading Ruskin whilst at Oxford University, that his views offered a "new road on which the world should travel" - a road that led Morris to social and political change.

A wide-ranging collection of essays written for the William Morris Society exploring the various intersections between the life, work and achievements of William Morris (1834-1896) and that of John Ruskin (1819-1900).Subjects covered include Ruskin’s connection with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, the promotion of craft skills and meaningful work, Morris and the division of labour, Ruskin’s engagement with education and the environment, Ruskin and the art and architecture of Red House, the parallels between Ruskin’s support for Laxey Mill and Morris’s Merton Abbey Works, the illustrated manuscript and the contrasts between Ruskin’s Tory paternalism and Morris’s revolutionary socialism. The book includes articles first published in The Journal of William Morris Studies between 1977 and 2012 and new pieces written especially for this volume.Ruskin's beliefs had a profound and lasting impact on Morris who wrote, upon first reading Ruskin whilst at Oxford University, that his views offered a "new road on which the world should travel" - a road that led Morris to social and political change.

This book challenges the assumption that it is bad news when the economy doesn't grow.For decades, it has been widely recognised that there are ecological limits to continuing economic growth and that different ways of living, working and organising our economies are urgently required. This urgency has increased since the financial crash of 2007-2008 - but mainstream economists and politicians are unable to think differently. The authors demonstrate why our economic system demands ecologically unsustainable growth and the pursuit of more 'stuff'. They believe that what matters is quality, not quantity - a better life based on having fewer material possessions, less production and less work. Such a way of life will emphasize well-being, community, security, and what Ivan Illich rightly called 'conviviality'. That is, more real wealth. The book will therefore appeal to everyone curious as to how a new post-growth economics can be conceived and enacted. It will be of particular interest to policy makers, politicians, business people, trade unionists, academics, students, journalists and a wide range of people working in the not for profit sector.All of the contributors are leading thinkers on Green issues and members of the new think tank Green House.

Since the early 1960s, the Journal of the William Morris Society (renamed Journal of William Morris Studies in 2005) has attracted a wide range of scholars to consider the life and work of this pivotal figure in Victorian culture. During that time the journal has published nearly 120 articles, exploring all areas of Morris's social, political and environmental thought as well as his energetic political activism.The contributions gathered in this volume provide many original insights, as well as unearthing fresh material from the archives. The lifetime trajectory of Morris s politics and socialism is often discussed in ways that show how it emerges from, interconnects with and informs the many other areas of his work art, design, literature, poetry, arts and crafts manufacture, fine book publishing and production. There is no other collection of articles of this type, with the range of contributors representing a virtual who s-who of Morris scholarship. William Morris s social and political values, his actions, his utopian writings and his libertarian socialism resonate even more widely today than perhaps they did in his own time.At a moment in history when disillusion and distrust of current politics and politicians has grown significantly, a figure such as Morris offers renewal and hope. This book allows great opportunities to reflect on the culture, context and genealogy of his beliefs while inviting the reader to revisit political possibilities and paths not taken paths that perhaps should be embarked upon now.